Latest news with #OECE
Scoop
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Teachers Are Paying The Price For Lack Of ECE Funding In The Budget
The Office of Early Childhood Education (OECE) fears sweeping – and sudden – changes to the pay parity scheme, allowing most ECE centres to pay graduate teachers, teachers coming from overseas and those moving from primary schools to ECE lower salaries, will seriously harm the sector's ability to attract new talent. Today, the Ministry of Education has announced that from July 1, education and care centres will only have to pay newly certificated teachers and certificated teachers who are new to working in New Zealand ECE centres at step 1 of the salary scale, which is $57,358 per year ($27.58 an hour) for at least the first year. Previously, services were required to take into account whether teachers held additional and higher qualifications, such as an honours degree or Masters degree of teaching, when working out what their starting salary should be. They also had to recognise any prior relevant work experience and any experience in the primary school system when assessing teachers' level of experience. The OECE's chief advisor Dr Sarah Alexander says the message this sends to educators and employers alike is clear: 'ECE teachers and their families are the ones that must self-sacrifice to keep ECE service financial margins up'. 'It also sends out a message that higher qualifications and experience for teachers count for nothing. This is devastating news for ECE teachers and the future of our profession.' Although ECE employers will be required to honour existing pay rates with teachers, it is not entirely accurate for the Ministry to claim that currently employed certificated teachers should not be affected by the change. That's because under the new rules, services that have opted to pay their permanently employed certificated teachers according to the parity or extended pay parity scale amounts won't be able to opt in to attest to paying higher salary scales after the July 2025 funding payment, for a period of 2 years. This could effectively equate to a pay freeze for many teachers employed at more than 1000 ECE services across Aotearoa because the service providers they work for won't be able to access increased funding to improve pay for staff. In Alexander's view, the government is doing this to try to limit its expenditure on ECE sector funding – because each funding round the number of centres opting in to paying extended and full pay parity goes up. (Under the pay parity scheme, services get more funding if they agree to pay certificated teachers according to one of four increasing salary scales.) The changes come just days after Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced the cost adjustment for ECE in the 2025 Budget would be just 0.5%. This was miles behind inflation, which is at 2.5%, so is effectively a funding cut. (See The Ministry has said in documents detailing the changes that the rationale is to 'support the sustainability of education and care… alongside the cost adjustment to subsidy rates announced as part of Budget 2025.' Alexander says: 'In other words, the Ministry is saying ECE teachers must pay the price for the lack of investment in the sector in Budget 2025. This is a way of keeping the cost of ECE centre funding down for the Government, while also not affecting service providers' bottom lines.'
Scoop
18-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Early Childhood Education Sector Confidence Survey Results 2025
Press Release – Office of Early Childhood Education The results of the 2025 confidence survey, which the Office of Early Childhood Education (OECE) conducts annually in the last few weeks before the Budget is released, show that the sentiment in the sector is at an all-time low. Confidence in where the early childhood education sector is heading falls to all-time low – 82% of those at the coalface say it's going in the wrong direction. 1.6 stars out of 5. That's the average rating that 1000 professionals and experts in early childhood education (ECE) have given the Government's track record on improving the sector. The results of the 2025 confidence survey, which the Office of Early Childhood Education (OECE) conducts annually in the last few weeks before the Budget is released, show that the sentiment in the sector is at an all-time low. The vast majority of respondents (82%) said they felt the Government was taking the sector in the wrong direction. Just 9% said things were headed the right way. That put net confidence at -77% – the worst result since the survey started in 2018. The outlook for the future of the sector was equally dire, with 83% of participants expecting the situation to get worse and just 6% predicting that things would improve. The OECE's chief advisor Dr Sarah Alexander says the findings should be a wake up call to politicians. 'Alarm bells should be ringing loudly. The message from teachers in our services and sector veterans alike is abundantly clear: we need urgent and drastic change.' More than half of respondents had been pessimistic about the direction the sector was going in for five consecutive years. During the last 12 months, the Government has introduced sweeping changes to how the sector operates. These have included removing restrictions for opening new services, Cabinet accepting recommendations by the Ministry for Regulation to to strip back regulations, and the scrapping of requirements for centre employers to pay relievers in line with pay parity scales. The Coalition Government has also recently announced it will waive fees for teacher registration and the renewal of teacher practicing certificates for the next three years. While a small group of respondents, mostly owners of private for-profit centres, were supportive of these shifts, overall the sector was dissatisfied with them, the OECE's research found. 'The new policy changes (teacher registration fees free for the next three years) are just a front for the lack of other things that should be addressed: funding and staff salaries and teacher-child ratios,' one respondent said. Another respondent described being 'devastated that striving for best practice can be wiped out by those who have no appreciation of the importance of the early years and do not listen to the concerns of the sector'. Low pay, insufficient ratios and resourcing, and funding issues continued to be some of the biggest pain points of the sector, the survey revealed. One educator said they have a Bachelors degree, yet their husband, who works as a lifeguard, earns more than they do. A respondent who gave the Government a one-star rating said they were deeply dissatisfied: 'There's been a lot of talk, but not enough meaningful action. Quality ECE requires sustained investment in kaiako, fair pay, manageable ratios, and a genuine understanding of what tamariki and whānau need. 'Right now, it feels like the sector is being asked to do more with less, and that's not sustainable.' Alexander, the OECE's chief advisor, is calling on the Government to properly listen to what those in the sector have to say and respond with policies that will enhance the quality of the care and education the sector provides. 'Will there be anything in Budget 2025 to reverse the grim situation the ECE sector is perceived to be in? Seeing these problems, will other political parties actively call out the Government on decisions and changes that have potential to, or will, make things worse still?,' she says. The full report can be viewed at: About the Office for Early Childhood Education The Office for Early Childhood Education advocates for best practice in the sector, based on what research tells us about what is best for tamariki. We are not a lobby group and we represent all parts of the sector. As well as being the national body for ECE, the OECE advises the Ministry of Education and other relevant agencies on early childhood education and care. We are non-partisan.
Scoop
18-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Early Childhood Education Sector Confidence Survey Results 2025
Confidence in where the early childhood education sector is heading falls to all-time low – 82% of those at the coalface say it's going in the wrong direction. 1.6 stars out of 5. That's the average rating that 1000 professionals and experts in early childhood education (ECE) have given the Government's track record on improving the sector. The results of the 2025 confidence survey, which the Office of Early Childhood Education (OECE) conducts annually in the last few weeks before the Budget is released, show that the sentiment in the sector is at an all-time low. The vast majority of respondents (82%) said they felt the Government was taking the sector in the wrong direction. Just 9% said things were headed the right way. That put net confidence at -77% – the worst result since the survey started in 2018. The outlook for the future of the sector was equally dire, with 83% of participants expecting the situation to get worse and just 6% predicting that things would improve. The OECE's chief advisor Dr Sarah Alexander says the findings should be a wake up call to politicians. 'Alarm bells should be ringing loudly. The message from teachers in our services and sector veterans alike is abundantly clear: we need urgent and drastic change.' More than half of respondents had been pessimistic about the direction the sector was going in for five consecutive years. During the last 12 months, the Government has introduced sweeping changes to how the sector operates. These have included removing restrictions for opening new services, Cabinet accepting recommendations by the Ministry for Regulation to to strip back regulations, and the scrapping of requirements for centre employers to pay relievers in line with pay parity scales. The Coalition Government has also recently announced it will waive fees for teacher registration and the renewal of teacher practicing certificates for the next three years. While a small group of respondents, mostly owners of private for-profit centres, were supportive of these shifts, overall the sector was dissatisfied with them, the OECE's research found. 'The new policy changes (teacher registration fees free for the next three years) are just a front for the lack of other things that should be addressed: funding and staff salaries and teacher-child ratios,' one respondent said. Another respondent described being 'devastated that striving for best practice can be wiped out by those who have no appreciation of the importance of the early years and do not listen to the concerns of the sector'. Low pay, insufficient ratios and resourcing, and funding issues continued to be some of the biggest pain points of the sector, the survey revealed. One educator said they have a Bachelors degree, yet their husband, who works as a lifeguard, earns more than they do. A respondent who gave the Government a one-star rating said they were deeply dissatisfied: 'There's been a lot of talk, but not enough meaningful action. Quality ECE requires sustained investment in kaiako, fair pay, manageable ratios, and a genuine understanding of what tamariki and whānau need. 'Right now, it feels like the sector is being asked to do more with less, and that's not sustainable.' Alexander, the OECE's chief advisor, is calling on the Government to properly listen to what those in the sector have to say and respond with policies that will enhance the quality of the care and education the sector provides. 'Will there be anything in Budget 2025 to reverse the grim situation the ECE sector is perceived to be in? Seeing these problems, will other political parties actively call out the Government on decisions and changes that have potential to, or will, make things worse still?,' she says. The full report can be viewed at: About the Office for Early Childhood Education The Office for Early Childhood Education advocates for best practice in the sector, based on what research tells us about what is best for tamariki. We are not a lobby group and we represent all parts of the sector. As well as being the national body for ECE, the OECE advises the Ministry of Education and other relevant agencies on early childhood education and care. We are non-partisan.
Scoop
14-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
The Office Of ECE's Response To The Green Party's ECE Policy Announcement
Press Release – Office of Early Childhood Education Although the Greens policy removes the ability for private enterprise to use ECE as a money making endeavour, its not foolproof. The policy still leaves room for community organisations running ECE centres to divert public funding to other … 'The Greens describe their ECE policy as 'bold'. It certainly is. It could even be described as 'whacky', because it's so different to the status quo. 'But that doesn't mean it's crazy. In fact, it deserves consideration and might well have merit. 'Essentially, the Greens are proposing to turn the way the ECE sector is structured and funded on its head. 'The Greens have homed in on two of the most critical problems facing the sector: instability and cost. 'The dominance of the sector by private for-profit providers means that, being businesses, most ECEs could close overnight if they decided to, leaving whānau in the lurch. This is not an issue in the community-based part of the sector. 'Without fee capping, as the Greens are proposing at $10 per day initially, the prices ECE services charge are, and will remain, at their discretion. 'The OECE has spent many years advocating for transparency in ECE services' financial accounts, so parents can see where money is going and assess whether fee hikes are justified. Opening up the books can also help ensure all families can access high quality early childhood education and care, whatever their household income or ability to pay is. 'We also recognise that ECE is a 'public good'. 'Although the Greens' policy removes the ability for private enterprise to use ECE as a money making endeavour, it's not foolproof. The policy still leaves room for community organisations running ECE centres to divert public funding to other purposes of their charity or organisation. 'If an external body is managing the finances of centres, through 'networks' as the Greens have proposed, individual centres won't have control over their own spending. 'Many current providers might also refuse to become not-for-profits, which could lead to a lack of capacity and a lack of available places for tamariki to meet whānau demand. 'There are multiple ways the policy could unravel; whether it's successful will depend on how it's implemented.' Other comments from the OECE: In the documentation they've released alongside their policy, the Greens have left some important questions unanswered, such as: Whether the number of teachers at each not-for-profit centre will be capped according to the existing minimum ratios or whether teacher headcounts, and the corresponding salaries, will be determined per centre using a different metric How non-teacher led parts of the sector (EG: Playcentre) will be funded. The Greens have confirmed to the OECE that they're committed to funding parent-led services like Playcentre, but how to do this hasn't been costed yet. How this approach would work for home-based services.
